Nazareth Early Childhood Centre

Context

Site and Community Context

Approximate Family Context:

• 150 families enrolled
• 100 children attend daily
• 20 different cultural identities represented
• Over 15 diverse languages spoken

Approximate Staff Context:

• 34 staff
• 20 different cultural identities represented
• Over 22 diverse languages spoken

The school and CRS – Why the school was drawn to being part of this research; What was already happening at the school in terms of being responsive to cultural diversity?

The ‘Super Diverse’ demographic pointed towards the need and rationale for being drawn to the CRS Project, in order to embrace the growing complexities and diversity of the expanding community.

Existing practices occurring in response to the growing cultural diversity and in support of culturally responsive practices include:

• Child-centred programming and planning
• Connecting children’s life-world to the learning program
• Embracing parent as a child first teacher and connecting to each child’s life world through learning conversation and establishing individual learning goals for each child in our context.

Connection to the Site’s Quality Improvement Plan

A key focus on our site’s QIP was to focus on creating culturally responsive environments that develops each persons understanding of local histories, community, language and people. Additionally our wider community strategic improvement plan outlined a commitment to explore culturally responsive pedagogy.

What Teacher-leaders learnt from trying action research out in the first year

It was evident following a year of engaging in action research that conducting this form of self-driven professional development enables growth and transformation to occur and supports all staff in developing practice and striving for high quality education and care in the early years. Action research enables educators to be leaders of learning and practice, providing them with a platform to enact changes in practice and conduct professional learning outside of PD being done to them.

Which teachers were involved in the first year – to then become ‘teacher-leaders’?

Initially one teacher from across each teaching site was selected to act as teachers for the -first year of this project. Being a multi-site community this meant 4 teachers were selected across the differing cohorts;

• Early Childhood (birth-5)
• Primary (Reception-year 6)
• Secondary (year 7-year 12) 2 teachers were selected for this cohort.

These 4 teachers then moved into the teacher-leader role in the subsequent year, leading action research and professional learning opportunities.

An intentional decision was then made to invite the ECC Team Leaders to be involved in this project in the following year. The ECC Leadership Team meet twice a week to discuss both pedagogical and operational matters; therefore, their influence on agenda items and decision-making is imperative; by building up their capacity to develop and implement CRP, it would have a broader impact on the staff, children and families within our community. These individuals also frequently mentor Cert III, Diploma and Bachelor students; thus, we hope their learnings from CRP would generate professional discussions and have a broader impact on the community as they share the CRS work beyond our immediate community.

How the site ran the professional learning

What did you do? How were you leading professional learning?

There were three different lines of professional development occurring across the site prior to engaging in the action research process:

1. Staff meetings which occurred every 3 weeks
2. Independent & External PD opportunities of varying focuses 
3. Community focus (in 2023 this focus was Aboriginal cultural sensitivity and respect)

In reviewing the opportunities to develop action research and professional learning opportunities two new lines of professional learning were introduced:

1. CRP workshops – all TLs from Nazareth ECC: Yarning circles and formal CRP workshops where Aurianne presented on CRP and AR
2. Establishing professional learning communities – fortnightly meetings

Additionally, there was an evident CRP focus/lens within staff meetings across 2023.

Professional Learning 2023 – CRP workshops timeline:

5 teacher-researchers were involved (ECC Team leaders), all had diverse questions and regardless of qualifications of staff – all were equally respected and important.

Term 1 – Brief meeting introducing staff to CRP and hopes for the project

Term 2 – A full day and some half days – establishing a common understanding of what CRP is, and setting up CRP action researchers for their investigations in term 3.

Term 3 – ‘Touch in’ meetings – to ensure confidence about how staff were feeling about their action research.

Term 4 – Critical Reflection, Reporting Back, Informing practice and pedagogy.

What did you do? How were you leading professional learning?

There were three different lines of professional development occurring across the site prior to engaging in the action research process:

1. Staff meetings which occurred every 3 weeks
2. Independent & External PD opportunities of varying focuses
3. Community focus (in 2023 this focus was Aboriginal cultural sensitivity and respect)

In reviewing the opportunities to develop action research and professional learning opportunities two new lines of professional learning were introduced:

1. CRP workshops – all TLs from Nazareth ECC: Yarning circles and formal CRP workshops where Aurianne presented on CRP and AR
2. Establishing professional learning communities – fortnightly meetings

Additionally, there was an evident CRP focus/lens within staff meetings across 2023.

Professional Learning 2023 – CRP workshops timeline:

5 teacher-researchers were involved (ECC Team leaders), all had diverse questions and regardless of qualifications of staff – all were equally respected and important.

Term 1 – Brief meeting introducing staff to CRP and hopes for the project

Term 2 – A full day and some half days – establishing a common understanding of what CRP is, and setting up CRP action researchers for their investigations in term 3.

Term 3 – ‘Touch in’ meetings – to ensure confidence about how staff were feeling about their action research.

Term 4 – Critical Reflection, Reporting Back, Informing practice and pedagogy.

Were there other collaborative opportunities structured in?

Existing structures included weekly team planning opportunities were all staff were entitled to 1.5hrs of team planning within the learning environments/teams. This enabled staff to engage in critical reflections processes and planning in regards to the learning programs and the children, families and community.

Additionally, there are existing collaborative opportunities with wider community stakeholders including parents and caregivers through:

• Learning Conversations where team leaders engage with families gaining new insights from regarding their child’s life-world and their hopes/aspirations for their children. These meeting opportunities then feed into the formation of each child individual learning plan.
• A new line of inquiry was also introduced into these learning conversations where our team leaders further explored/invited families to share about their identity and life-world. This required a process of unlearning and relearning to occur where our educators engaged with developing a new understanding over the term ‘culture’. Unpacking and discovering that culture is more than ethnicity and language and encompasses each individual life-world and the uniqueness of their influences and upbringing that develop their core being. This education extended to parents and families as well.

Site support for the professional learning

Within our ECC context our director (site leader) provided agency to our teacher-leader to roll out and implement any structures to support the overall delivery of culturally responsive practice within our ECC service.

Our teacher-leader fortunately began a non-contact role halfway through this research project which enabled meeting times and teacher release time to be co-ordinated and navigated with ease. The support from our site director meant that budget allocation for teacher release and meeting organisation was provided in order to ensure the CRP workshops could be prioritised and invested.

Our site director employs an open door policy where by any staff member is available to engage in active conversation and critical reflection discussion with the director at any given time. These dialogic opportunities supported discussion opportunities where teacher-researchers could wonder together.

Criteria for success

Essentially, we wanted to achieve cohesion, consistency and alignment to our philosophy, particularly as over the last two years our staffing landscape has changed as we have farewelled and welcomed many new faces to the ECC. We did not want a selected ‘few’ to be holders of great pedagogy, we wanted our whole staffing team to develop great knowledge and overall practice.

• A key point for us at the ECC was moving away from conforming to strengthening practices of co-construction and collaboration.
• Learning environments and relationships whereby each individual feels respected and connected to one another.
• Reciprocity as the foundation for relationships.
• Sociocultural consciousness.
• Honouring children’s agency and acting as agents of change.
• Knowing each child deeply and using that knowledge to support participation, equity and inclusion.
• Sharing power within all facets of the community and relationships.

Achievement of these outcomes can be measured through…?

Communication systems

Reimagining current systems.

• Supporting our diverse linguistic community be utilising languages spoken at home.
• Upon reflection of identified barriers, some of our families and caregivers are illiterate resulting in miss communication regarding their child’s learning and development. Through CRP one educator worked to establish voice overs as a form of communication so parents could hear the learning occurring rather than just the written text.
• As previously mentioned supporting families to understand the meaning of culture as life-world. Using this as a guiding question within learning conversations.

Changes to policy

In 2024 the service has focused on reviewing the site philosophy with particular emphasis on the original term included ‘cultural competence’. Learning gained within the CRS project has informed practitioners in understanding this term is culturally insensitive as no individual can obtain ‘competence’ in another’s culture. New inclusion of this language has been transformed to reflect cultural responsiveness.

Insight obtain throughout CRS has also informed policymakers in reviewing service policies including policies surrounding inclusion, relationships with children, health and hygiene, child protection and food practices.

CRS has also affected pedagogical decision, with educators making informed decisions through the lens of CRP.

Plans for the future

Term 1 Staff Meetings to share CRP learnings with everyone, introducing action research.

• Pupil free day – the first ever ECC specific – philosophy review particularly looking at the language re: culturally competent 
• Whole centre Inquiry focus shift to Challenge of Practice focus
• Roll out CRP across all staff in term 1 through small action research groups

Establish small challenge of practice groups for educators to focus on their own challenges

• Have a CRP focus within staff meetings.
• Re-imagine PLCs to address small group challenge of practice.
• Support each staff to engage in their own action research, developing this to be a natural aspect of daily practice.
• Continue our journey in ensuring each child’s right to high-quality education and care is maintained and prioritised. 

Conclusions

Outcomes

Change of practice – looking at environment through a lens of inclusion – how do our physical spaces promotes a sense of belonging and welcome for all community members. Commission a mural – prior to that did a survey to families ‘what does belonging mean to you?’. 

One of the goals for this year is to create a culturally responsive environment that develops each person’s understanding of local histories communities languages and people.

New uniforms for staff ($60 each for staff) – wear artwork to stimulate open conversations – referendum and demonstrate allyship. Conversations with children – The children then asked for their own uniform – they designed their own shirts and worked with local artist Caitlyn Davies-Plummer to create a new uniform for themselves. (activism)

Increased parental involvement and impact on learning and community influence.

Established 6 PL communities – inspired by the message to not wait for leaders – just do it for yourself!

1. One PL group audited resources and found we needed to include more resources with gender norms, language groups, diverse family dynamics.
2. Sustainability and outdoor group – Inspired by families sharing photos and stories about gardening on the online platform – we looked at the ECC garden. To expand connections from home we established a plant exchange – set up at front of the service.
3. Have been developing audio literacy resources to share with families who have different literacies

Impacts on the broader community

• Staff identity and inclusion.
• Staff sharing aspects of their identities (teachers as storytellers to lead learning and develop positive relationships with children/families).
• Staff requesting to share important celebrations with families, children and colleagues. Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Diwali.

What was learnt about leading CRS?

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy promotes the rights and dignity of each child, family, staff and community member to be authentically included in daily ways of being.

CRS at it’s core is the best possible pedagogy to engage children and re-imagine learning programs to be relatable, modern, challenging yet fun (hard-fun)!

Action research enables growth and transformation to occur and supports all staff in developing practice, pedagogy and shared understandings.

Enables educators and children to develop shared understandings, strengthens overall pedagogy and practice. Is an active journey that promotes new ways of thinking, being and exploring. Provides a space for growth and transformation.

Other impact gained from research includes and evident increase in relationships and confidence. Greater interest and excitement from children to attend care. Relating with home-worlds with greater intentionality, leading to more successful separation. More robust, relatable and involved learning programs. Greater connection to students funds of knowledge.